Michael Black hails from the foremost family of Irish song, which includes siblings, Mary, Frances, Shay and Martin. He has been playing music and singing songs all his life and though from Dublin, he has lived in Limerick, London before emigrating to the bay area of San Francisco. His repertoire is very broad and includes old Dublin street songs, stories of emigration and history, folk songs from … [Read more...] about Michael Black
2010
Kevin Burke
Kevin Burke’s fiddle playing has been at the forefront of traditional music for over 30 years. His work during the 1970’s with Arlo Guthrie, Christy Moore and the Bothy Band established him as a first class musician and brought him international acclaim in both Europe and America. He also gained recognition as an exciting soloist with his far-reaching album, “If the Cap Fits”. By 1980 Kevin had … [Read more...] about Kevin Burke
Anna Colliton
Anna Colliton is one of America’s leading exponents of the bodhrán, the traditional Irish frame drum. A native of Chicago, a city of Irish musical excellence, Anna plays a highly intricate style of drumming with masterful tonal and rhythmic variation. She has taught and performed at festivals across the country, including Catskills Irish Arts Week, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, The O’Flaherty … [Read more...] about Anna Colliton
Tom Creegan
Tom Creegan grew up in Dublin learning in one of the best environments possible, the Pipers' Club in Thomas Street. He played extensively in Europe and Canada before moving to Seattle where he fell in with a bad crowd, joining the Irish Pipers’ Club, at that time under the helm of Denis Brooks. Tom learned a lot from Denis of the depth and breadth of the tradition, while listening repeatedly … [Read more...] about Tom Creegan
Ken Fleming
Ken Fleming has been playing Irish music for more than four decades in the Dallas area on tenor banjo, button accordion, concertina, guitar, bouzouki and mandolin. His love of Irish music led him to become involved in 1983 in the formation of the Southwest Celtic Music Association and North Texas Irish Festival of which he was the founding president and founding director respectively. In the … [Read more...] about Ken Fleming
Gráinne Hambly
Gráinne Hambly from County Mayo, Ireland is an internationally recognised exponent of the Irish harp, and is in great demand as a performer and teacher, both at home and abroad. Gráinne started to play Irish music on the tin whistle at an early age, before moving on to the concertina and later the harp. She lived in Belfast for six years, where she completed a Masters Degree in Musicology, awarded … [Read more...] about Gráinne Hambly
Mark Kenneth
Mark is a born and bred Scotsman. He has been learning and playing the accordion since he was 6, studying classically with the British College of Accordionists until he "found" traditional music in himself. Mark has won championships across Scotland and also taken first place at the All Scotland and All Britain level. Most recently he came in 2nd place in the US finals of the 2008 … [Read more...] about Mark Kenneth
Daniel Lowery
Dan Lowery is originally from Dallas, Texas and has been playing Irish music for over twenty years. After learning on the tinwhistle at a young age, he began playing the wooden flute and became heavily involved in the Dallas Irish music scene, joining local bands Idle Road, the Lone Star Ceili Band and the TIMES Band & Session Players. He soon went on to play and compete around Ireland and … [Read more...] about Daniel Lowery
Oisín Mac Diarmada
A graduate in Music Education from Trinity College Dublin & Royal Irish Academy of Music, Oisín Mac Diarmada began playing fiddle in Clare at a young age, over time developing a deep interest in the playing style of the Sligo region, having moved there at the age of 11. Founder of the internationally-renowned group Téada in 2001 with whom he has recorded a number of albums on the Gael Linn … [Read more...] about Oisín Mac Diarmada
Darren Maloney
Darren Maloney was regarded by critics and peers alike as one of the most outstanding musicians to emerge in Irish music. “Darren’s abilities as an Irish tenor banjoist are truly remarkable," says Dr. Mick Moloney, Global Distinguished Professor resident at NYU. Darren toured the world and was sought after as a recording artist for many years. In 2004 Darren recorded a solo album, not a … [Read more...] about Darren Maloney